


don't need no butterflies (when you give me the whole damn zoo)

by asharee_arie



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 03:39:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16255901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asharee_arie/pseuds/asharee_arie
Summary: Four times that Magnus and Alec were adorable as witnessed by their friends and family.





	don't need no butterflies (when you give me the whole damn zoo)

**Author's Note:**

> I heard Hailee Steinfeld's song Starving the other day and it made me think of Malec so here I am attempting to write fic after not writing anything for years.

**I.**

Izzy barely restrained an amused giggle as she watched her big brother’s entire face light up as his boyfriend swept into the Institute for their weekly Downworld cabinet meeting looking like the warlock equivalent of a glitter bomb brought to life. Her lips twitched up as Alec desperately clung to his air of authority in the face of Magnus and all his glory. These cabinet meetings were perhaps her favorite part of the week because she got a front row seat to the show as they, well mostly Alec, struggled to maintain the air of professionalism that he kept insisting was necessary even though the entire cabinet had stumbled upon the two of them groping each other in more than one hallway over the past six months.

“Mr. Bane,” Alec began as he moved forward to usher Magnus toward the table where the rest of the cabinet was already in place, “I trust you’re doing well.”

“Quite well, Mr. Lightwood,” Magnus practically purred with a twinkle in his eye that Izzy knew meant trouble for Alec and his, ahem, delicate sensibilities, “I had a most delightful morning.”

Judging by the brilliant shade of red sweeping up his neck, Alec clearly knew exactly what Magnus meant and the way his eyes flashed hot at the words said that Alec had found it equally delightful. His hands began to reach for the warlock seemingly of their own accord before Alec thrust them behind his back as if he didn’t trust them to behave.

Raphael rolled his eyes, “You do realize that this ridiculous performance is unnecessary, right? We’re all perfectly aware that you two are one step away from feeling each other up under the table.” His sardonic comment made the rest of the cabinet smother their own amusement behind a variety of forced coughs and a sudden need to not make eye contact with each other. Alec’s cheeks flushed hot again while Magnus all but preened under the scrutiny not bothered in the least by the insinuation, probably, Izzy thought, because it was true.

“Let’s get this meeting started,” Alec forced out as he desperately tried to get things back on track. His gaze swung wildly around the table landing on the silent Seelie seated across from him. “Meliorn!” He exclaimed with a touch more enthusiasm than the situation called for, “Why don’t you start us off?”

The rest of the meeting was fairly uneventful. Magnus only slipped up and called Alec _darling_ once which Alec dutifully ignored but Izzy didn’t fail to notice the soft smile he sent Magnus as the rest of the council debated around them. Thinking the show over, Izzy leaned down to grab her bag from beneath the table and was met with the sight of Alec gently stroking his fingers across the back of Magnus’ hand in a sweet caress. The touch was wholly innocent but somehow witnessing the hidden affection felt unspeakably intimate. Izzy felt her heart give a little clench and she couldn't contain the wide smile that spread across her lips. Her brother was in love and she couldn't imagine anything sweeter. 

**II.**

Simon couldn’t help but always feel vaguely uncomfortable in Magnus’ loft. It was kind of like being in a museum. Lots of expensive artifacts and Simon exists with the knowledge that he’s always one klutzy maneuver away from disaster. As a person with a history of taking down breakables (RIP his mother’s Precious Moments collection), he strives to limit his opportunities to cause mass destruction. It’s the reason why he’s perched on the couch in the living room, refusing to move an inch as he waits for Magnus, when Alec stumbled through the doorway looking a little less than sober. Alec braced himself with a hand on the wall and probably would have noticed Simon next except Magnus chose the same moment to glide out of the bedroom in yet another half-unbuttoned shirt that seemed to cause Alec to lose all of his faculties. Alec careened into the wall with a thunk as the arm he was leaning on gave out.

Magnus quickly moved to his side and slipped an arm around his waist to help the large shadowhunter remain upright. Alec seemed to be pleased with this new development since he nosed into Magnus hair and sighed with delight. “I love you, Magnus,” he whispered in a tone of voice that Simon hadn’t even been aware that Alec was capable of. “I don’t need butterflies, you know,” he continued softly, “You give me the whole damn zoo.”

Simon could only gape at the pair as Magnus laughed delightedly, before leaning up to brush a kiss across Alec's cheek and walking them both to the bedroom, “Darling, you are drunk. Not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, of course.”

Alec continued mumbling sweet nothings to Magnus’ obvious pleasure as Simon’s mind exploded at this influx of new information about their relationship. Alec wasn’t exactly warm and cuddly in public so watching the usually stoic man whisper, “I didn’t know I was starving ‘til I tasted you” was enough to send Simon sprawling backward onto the couch. Clearly he needed to lay down if he was going to process this new side of Alec.

“I’ll be right back,” Magnus called over his shoulder to Simon as he helped Alec maneuver his way toward the bed. Simon peeked over the back of the couch to see Alec attempting to unbutton the remaining buttons on Magnus’ shirt while Magnus chuckled and half-heartedly swatted his hands even though his face was definitely screaming some _yes, please_ feelings, “We have company, Alexander, Simon’s here.”

“Get rid of him,” Alec basically whisper-shouted with a drunken annoyance that made Simon feel like he could finally make some sense of the world. Annoyed Alec was definitely something he was familiar with.  The surly glare he received from Alec as he finally looked at Simon on the couch felt even more familiar. Alec stared him down as pulled his own shirt off his head before returning his focus (with a much nicer expression, Simon noted) to Magnus. The sexual tension in the loft was starting to get a bit too palpable for Simon’s comfort, not that either of the other men seemed to notice. He scrambled off the couch and reached for his bag while attempting a wave. The wild movement caused a wooden figurine to fly into the wall, but Simon was counting on Magnus being too distracted to care as he hastily started heading toward the exit.

“I’ll see you guys, uh, later,” he called as he walked out the door trying to ignore the fact that Alec had finally been successful in getting the warlock shirtless and appeared to be heading for his pants next.

Later that night, Clary giggled helplessly as Simon relayed a play-by-play of the experience. “How am I supposed to process this?” Simon asked dramatically as he flopped backward onto his bed, “I mean, he was quoting Hailee Steinfeld lyrics!” 

“It’s a good song,” Clary defended through a snort of laughter. “At least you got out before the pants came off, not all of us have been so lucky.”  

**III.**

Honestly, at this point, Jace is used to walking in on Alec and Magnus in various states of undress. It’s happened at the loft, Alec’s office (pretty sure he’ll never look at that desk the same way again), the weapons room, and, on one memorable occasion, the bathroom of the Hunter’s Moon. As much as Jace doesn’t need any further visuals of how much Alec and Magnus love each other, he’s actually pretty proud of Alec. The first time he’d walked in on them in an intimate situation, their parabatai bond had pulsed with red-hot embarrassment and a hint of shame that had made Jace slightly sick to his stomach. Now when it happens, Jace is more likely to feel Alec’s sharp stab of irritation followed by a soothing wave of what can only be deep-rooted happiness. It’s nice, he thinks, to have this intimate view into their relationship.

It’s, of course, decidedly less nice when his Tuesday morning is ruined by walking in on Alec in his boxer shorts and Magnus on his knees (seriously, he’s never bringing Alec coffee again). The annoyance radiating off Alec at being interrupted is enough to make him grin, “Dude, it’s called a lock.”

“Dude,” Alec growled back, “It’s called get out.” Alec looked ready to continue his rant, but his mouth slammed abruptly shut as Magnus ran a soothing hand down his hip before gracefully standing up and sliding into Alec’s lap. Alec’s arms instantly surrounded Magnus and smoothed up and down his back as Magnus whispered something in his ears that tore a groan from Alec’s throat.

Alec’s gaze went hot and a little desperate which Jace took as his cue to back quickly out of the room. “Just remember, no glove, no love” he sing-songed before just barely avoiding the door that Magnus magicked shut with a flick of his wrist.

**IV.**

Clary rapped out a knock on Alec’s office door before cautiously pushing the door open and peeking her head inside. Whenever Magnus was in the building it was always best to make your presence known before entering a room unexpectedly, something Jace was terrible at and had paid the price for many times. A quick glance showed an empty office so Clary padded across the floor to drop Izzy’s weapons order on the desk before turning to leave.

A startled gasp slipped out as she realized that she wasn’t actually alone after all. Magnus and Alec both lay wrapped up together on the couch fast asleep. The smaller man snuggly pressed against Alec, his face tucked securely under his chin and a leg thrown over Alec’s hip.

Clary couldn’t help but smile when she noticed that one of Magnus’ hands was tucked into the back pocket of Alec’s jeans and the other was slipped up underneath his black t-shirt. Wanting to capture the moment for posterity (and maybe a little bit for blackmail), she slipped her phone from her pocket and flicked open her camera app to snap a quick photo. Not wanting to intrude on the moment any longer, Clary attempted to back away without disturbing them but hadn’t gotten more than a foot away when Alec’s eyes lazily blinked open and met her own wide-eyed gaze. Bracing for the inevitable lecture about privacy, Clary was surprised when Alec merely pulled Magnus in closer and whispered, “Will you send me that picture?”

It only took a moment to share the picture via text and she couldn’t help herself from also forwarding it to Izzy with an accompanying text full of seventeen heart-eye emojis.

A week later when Clary discovered that Alec had framed the photo and put it on his desk at the Institute, she had to take a second picture to send to Izzy and the string of heart eye emojis grew exponentially. 

 


End file.
